UN Member States reach an agreement for the conservation of the oceans after 15 years of negotiations

MADRID, 5 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

After more than 15 years of negotiations, the member states of the UN have reached an agreement this Saturday on an ocean treaty to protect the high seas and the biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

This was announced to the applause of the delegates Rena Lee, the president of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ): "The ship has reached the shore."

"Today the world has come together to protect the ocean for the benefit of our children and grandchildren," Mónica Medina, Under Secretary of State, said after Lee's intervention. "We leave here with the ability to create protected areas in the high seas and achieve the ambitious goal of conserving 30 percent of the ocean by 2030."

This agreement, which must now be reviewed by lawyers and translated into all the official languages ​​of the United Nations, is considered essential for the protection of marine diversity beyond national jurisdictions, since only 1 percent of the sea is currently regulated.

The treaty will allow the UN to adopt conservation and sustainable use measures as well as carry out environmental impact studies in maritime spaces beyond the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of the States, according to the United Nations in a statement.

It will also make it mandatory to carry out environmental impact assessments of the activities proposed by the States in the High Seas, in addition to promoting the creation of marine protected areas.

The text must now be adopted, signed and ratified by enough countries that it will then probably require legislative approval in the UN General Assembly.